FEMA opens Recovery Center in Lockhart

On Tuesday, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) opened a Disaster Recovery Center in Lockhart, to assist Caldwell County residents in recovery from Hurricane Harvey.

DRCs offer in-person support to individuals and businesses in counties included in the Texas federal disaster declaration for Hurricane Harvey and the subsequent floods.

Recovery specialists from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), the State and other agencies will be at the center to talk about assistance and to help anyone who needs guidance in filing an application.

The Center, which has been approved for extended hours because of the number of Caldwell County residents who commute for work, is located at the “Old Hospital” in Lockhart, at

901 Bois D’ Arc St. The Center will be open Monday – Saturday, 9 a.m. – 7 p.m., and on Sundays from noon – 5 p.m.

SBA disaster assistance employees are committed to helping businesses and residents rebuild as quickly as possible. SBA representatives are available to answer questions about SBA’s disaster loan program and help business owners and residents apply to SBA.

Disaster recovery centers are accessible to people with disabilities. Centers have assistive technology equipment allowing disaster survivors to use amplified telephones, phones that display text, amplified listening devices for people with hearing loss and magnifiers for people with vision loss. Video Remote Interpreting is available and in-person sign language is available by request. The centers also have accessible parking, ramps and restrooms.

American Sign Language interpreters are available to assist at a DRC. Requests can be made via text message at (470) 379-5943. Survivors will need to provide their name, the address of the DRC they will be visiting, the date and time of their visit and the type of sign language they are requesting. All requests for help should be made at least 24 hours in advance of a DRC visit to ensure assistance is available.

If possible, homeowners, renters and businesses should register with FEMA before visiting a recovery center. Eligible residents may register for assistance the following ways:

– Online at DisasterAssistance.gov.

– Phone 800-621-3362 (voice, 711/VRS-Video Relay Service) (TTY: 800-462-7585). Multilingual operators are available (press 2 for Spanish).

– Via the FEMA app, available for Apple and Android mobile devices. To download visit: fema.gov/mobile-app.

The following information is helpful when registering:

– Address of the location where the damage occurred (pre-disaster address).

– Current mailing address.

– Current telephone number.

– Insurance information.

– Total household annual income.

-Routing and account number for checking or savings account (this allows FEMA to directly transfer disaster assistance funds into a bank account).

– A description of disaster-caused damage and losses.

Disaster survivors can visit any of the centers for assistance. Locations of other recovery centers are online at www.fema.gov/DRC.

Caldwell County Emergency Management Coordinator Martin Ritchey said it is important for anyone who sustained storm damage to register with FEMA.

“I’ve talked to people that said they had damage, but they would take care of it on their own, because they didn’t want to take resources from someone else,” he said. “But that’s not how it works. If you have damage, it needs to be reported and help is available. It’s not a finite pool, that if one homeowner receives help, there’s less for someone else. Anyone who needs the help should register.”